MEATWARE, The Platform Economy

"MEATWARE": The human element within a computing network. Along with hardware and software, meatware, or humans, are required to operate a computer system.

SYNOPSIS
The Platform Economy. Some call it the gig economy, the share economy, or digital Matchmakers. Most people know it as Uber, Bird, Lyft, TaskRabbit, Crowdflower, Deliveroo, Meituan, or Didi.
These digital platforms are changing the way we live and work, and human labour is the central commodity. While computer programs are called software, and physical Infrastructure is called hardware, now people are called the meatware: humans who perform computer like tasks. Who are the people left in the lurch or relied upon to smooth out a technology’s rough edges? And, what really is the Platform economy that is taking over, while also reporting huge revenue losses? The promise of a technological salvation, a capitalism of convenience, seems closer than ever. But is it really? What are the costs of this brave new world, and how is it transforming our lives?
Meatware is a tech doc with an edge, weaving together human dramas with a cinematic visual presentation, pushing viewers to think about the futuristic world we are already living in. The film will use a character-driven approach to delve deeply into the lives of invisible workers from different parts of the world, intercutting their stories to show the deep Connections between them, and across various platforms.

Available for screening: 17' work-in-progress
Estimated delivery: End June 2020